If you know me, you know that I like to speak (ad nauseam) about my undying adoration for movie scores and how I consider them to be the main characters of a well-written flick…
And that’s because scores help dictate how we feel while we’re watching movies. Every high, low, triumph, and tragedy right alongside the characters.
But this emotional alchemy isn’t just reserved for the big screen alone.
As business owners and creatives—words are *kinda* like our brand’s score, strategically and creatively orchestrated to evoke the emotions we wish to stir in our audience. AKA: Helping us create emotional resonance.
Crafting copy that converts browsers into buyers isn’t about dressing up your message with the linguistic equivalent of a fancy tuxedo (ahem, sexy copy formulas and sales tactics) and hoping it waltzes its way into everyone’s hearts and minds.
It’s about writing from a place that moves people, both emotionally and to action.
So, when you’re trying to grow your business, the million-dollar question shouldn’t be
“How do I write copy that converts?”
but rather,
“How do I connect with the emotions of my audience so they’re excited to engage with what I offer?”
Because if the main “chorus” of your messaging is: revenue, revenue, revenue, sales, money, etc — your audience will feel that and will most likely tune out.
And as Luke Sullivan — *ethical* advertising genius and author of one of my all-time fave books, “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Advertising,“ says: No one wants to feel like they’re being sold to.
Instead, he advocates for creativity and storytelling in advertising, arguing that the best ads (and messaging) are those that people remember not because they were pressured by a sales pitch…
…but because the messaging made them feel something, think differently, or entertain them.
This approach shifts the focus from hard-selling to creating value and relevance for the audience, thereby building a more authentic connection.
Yet, not many seem to talk about this in the online space. Why? Because it isn’t fast and easy to do. It can’t be done with some “proven six-figure formula” alone. It takes real effort and time. And how many course creators or service providers have admitted that something takes effort and time to see results on their sales page? Not many, in my experience. But I digress…
So how do we *show* our audience they’re more than just entries in an accounting ledger, but people we genuinely want to uplift, support, and entertain?
Through our words, our messaging, our ability to tell stories that resonate on a human level. Does that take more time than plugging something into a formula? Yup. But it will pay off long-term.
As promised, this week’s post is all about:
Think: Creative Storytelling
To help with this, I’m gonna revisit a previous Speakeasy email, “Tacos, tequila and tanking a language” and I’m gonna break the forth wall. Because I’m unveiling the storytelling strategy I use in my emails, so you can do the same in yours. (if you missed that email, click here to read it.)
By the way, I didn’t come up with this. Nor am I claiming it as my own top-secret strategy. Because this storytelling structure is older than my dusty purple Tamagotchi in my parent’s attic. It’s tried and tested by many many a marketers! But I DID make my own spin on it with the step names etc. But I digress 2.0. Let’s break it down:
Step 1: Content
Choose what topic you’d like to speak about or what lesson you’d like to share with your audience. In this particular email, it was about the importance of understanding your audience’s language through solid market research. (Bonus points if your content topic is chosen based on what you’re launching or promoting that month/quarter)
Step 2: Connect
What feeling does your chosen content topic stir up? In my case, it was the frustration and feeling of being lost in translation—literally. It’s these emotions that make your audience nod along, thinking, “Yep, been there.” So, what specific feeling do you think your audience will associate with your chosen topic?
Step 3: Chronicle
This is where the storytelling comes in. In this case, I had the perfect story about travelling solo to Cozumel, ready to dive with whale sharks, only to find myself (and my taxi driver) utterly lost and frustrated due to a language barrier.
Now, Your stories don’t have to be *this* dramatic, but they should be relatable and underline the message you’re trying to convey.
Step 4: Link Back to Your Lesson:
Just like in my email, I linked the feeling and story back to the topic I wanted to talk about: the importance of understanding your ideal audience’s language plus how to conduct market research. Since both the feeling and story was so aligned with the lesson, it was a seamless transition.
So many of you have replied to these emails, “omg this was so fun to read!” And that makes me so, so happy!
Buuuut it wasn’t written like that by mistake…
Here’s 5 ways to make your story-led emails fun to read:
1. Be Specific
If you’ve worked with me at any capacity you probably heard “let’s be more specific” like, a kajillion times. Because specificity sells—not only products but ideas, too.
So for example, when I described my taxi driver’s car, I didn’t just say “taxi” I said, “the electric blue Honda Civic turned taxi” It’s piggybacking off the whole “show, don’t tell” rule in copy because specifics bring stories to life.
How do you know when you’re being specific in your writing? When you can see it in your mind’s eye, or you can act it out in your head. It’s vivid and paints a clear picture that you can almost see, hear, smell, touch.
2. Start at the middle (or end):
Claaaassic storytelling device here. It’s like when you’re watching an opening chase scene in a movie and you have no idea who the character is, what they’re doing, or where it’s going. All you know is: You can’t take your eyes off the screen.
So instead of saying, “today I’m in your inbox bright and early because I want to talk about the importance of market research. Let’s get into it” …start off with the middle or end of your story and then let the details unveil themselves as you write.
3. Make It Relatable:
Just like struggling to communicate in a foreign language, connect your story to a universal feeling. Then you can add relatable feelings as you continue to tell the details of your story through comparison or out-right stating feelings as I’ve done in these two examples:
“Because he knew the address as well as I knew quantum physics. (I don’t)”
“Taxi guy’s laughing (genuinely), I’m laughing (nervously) and Google Maps is crying (figuratively).”
4. Amp Up the Drama:
Just like your fave movie adds dramatic scenes for cinematic effect, you can do the same in your writing. It’s not about lying of course, but it’s just about adding hyperbole or exaggeration to the point where it becomes kinda comedic.
For example, in my email I was trying to illustrate how nervous and anxious I was while going on my first ever solo trip:
“Excited? Check. Nervous? You bet. My anxiety weighinf heavier than my checked baggage as scenes from ‘Taken’ played in my head? Check, check, check.”
I didn’t just say “I was sooo nervous.” I (at least tried to) add humour and exaggeration to how nervous I felt.
5. Include Fun Similes:
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things using the words “like” or “as” to highlight similarities between them.
It’s a way to make descriptions more vivid and relatable by drawing a direct comparison, helping readers or listeners to visualize or understand an idea more clearly. For example:
“And your inquires? Drier than your Saturday night’s martini.
“So there I was in this fast-n-not-so-furious Civic, totally butchering Spanish like it’s a $2 steak…”
Your Next Steps:
Try this with your next piece of content. Remember the steps: What’s the topic you wanna talk about? What feeling does it evoke within your audience? What’s a personal story that illustrates this perfectly? And how can you tie it back to the topic/lesson?
This strategy isn’t just for emails btw, you can use it across all your platforms.
If you’ve included these tips in your storytelling efforts, let me know. Send me a link to your email or caption or whatevs—I’d love to see it in action!
Want someone else to do this for you? I’ve got just the thing.
If you need help welcoming your new subscribers with emails that are fun to read while increasing your open rate— I can help with my Email Intensives. Together, we’ll decide on a fun on-brand newsletter name. Then I’ll write your need-to-have-this freebie landing page and a 3-email welcome sequence designed to engage your audience right when they are most excited to hear from you. Books yours here!
Plus you get a bonus masterclass video recording on exactly how I infuse these storytelling tactics into my email marketing strategy.
This way, when launch time comes, your audience are not just ready to open your emails—they’re ready to invest in what you offer. Let’s create a community around your brand, one story-led email at a time.
P.S. If you’re scratching your head thinking, “But, Hollie. I don’t have any cool/fun/exciting stories,” Stop. Because I bet KNOW you do. Stories do not have to be these drama sagas. It can be anything remotely interesting that happens in real life—that’s the relatable stuff, anyway. Keep a note in your phone and write down any bizarre or weird things that happen to you everyday.
